Public Lecture: Irish author and humanitarian Don Mullan

Celebrated Irish author and humanitarian Don Mullan will discuss "The Christmas Truce and the Great War." The lecture, which will reflect on a series of unofficial ceasefires during World War I that took place along the Western Front around Christmas 1914, is co-sponsored by Quinnipiac's Ireland's Great Hunger Institute and Albert Schweitzer Institute.

Mullan is best known for his book, "Eyewitness Bloody Sunday." At age 15, he witnessed "Bloody Sunday," in which Northern Irish Catholic civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army on Jan. 30, 1972. Fourteen of them died.

The event profoundly influenced the course of his Mullan's life and, "Eyewitness Bloody Sunday," is credited with changing the course of the peace process in Northern Ireland.

Christine Kinealy, founding director of the Ireland's Great Hunger Institute, first met Mullan in 1995 while working together on a famine project.

"His compassion took my breath away," Kinealy said. "Almost 20 years later, I am still in awe of Don's kindness, energy and determination. He is a man who has changed history, yet he remains unchanged in his selflessness and vision. I am delighted that Don will be visiting Quinnipiac in this centenary of the start of the Great War."

Mullan's involvement in the Northern Ireland civil rights movement led to him becoming director of Action From Ireland, a Dublin based human rights organization. During his tenure he helped to establish the first annual Famine Walk in commemoration of all those who perished in "the Great Famine" in Ireland and those who continue to die of hunger and poverty today. He has written several books and produced several documentaries and films, including An Unreliable Witness (2004) and the film Bloody Sunday (2002), which won best picture at both the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals.

Mullan's lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact 203-582-8652.